This news digest is part of a regular series of updates about UW-Madison’s transition to the Canvas learning management system (LMS).

Canvas trainings available throughout summer

A variety of demonstrations, webinars and training sessions will be offered throughout the summer. Offerings include “What is Canvas?,” “Getting Started with Canvas,” and “Managing Grades in Canvas.” Check out the full listing of events (organized from newest/upcoming on top, to oldest) to learn more, and to register.

A fully online, self-paced Canvas training course for instructors is also available. To access the course, log into Canvas and click on “Canvas Training Course for Instructors.”

Share your feedback on Canvas transition support

The Canvas Transition Team is currently surveying faculty and instructors about their experience transitioning to Canvas during the spring semester. Feedback will be used to help improve central support provided to other units in the upcoming semesters. Please watch your inbox and take the time to share your experience.

Teach Easier. Teach Better. In Canvas

Are you teaching, or going to teach in Canvas? Do it in a way that frees up your time and increases student-learning! DoIT Academic Technology developed the Teaching Effectively in Canvas program for instructors and instructional staff to learn and apply proven strategies in Course Design, Assessment, Social Learning and Individual Learning.

What are faculty and instructors saying about their switch to Canvas?

“I found the switch (to Canvas) difficult because I have a lot of CSCR stuff and Captivate lectures. However, (one of the instructional staff) really helped me navigate the transition, going so far as to re-save my Captivate files in the right format. It did take a couple days of solid work to transition everything over, but I am happy with Canvas, especially for online teaching. It is easier to navigate than Moodle, once set up.

I have one more course in Moodle, so I’m waiting until I have a couple days to make the switch. I’m sure it would have been much easier without the Captivate files. The course software is really ideal for online teaching, especially the online room where I can poll students, put them in chat groups, and share files with them while I talk.

Overall, I like it. I think the thing that bothers me most is that when you have a complicated class like I have, you start to have really long lists of files, and it takes a long time for it to load.” – Lyn Van Swol, professor, College of Letters and Science

Planning for non-credit courses underway

In addition to credit-based courses, the campus also relies on its LMS to deliver specific non-credit courses that fit into the following categories:

Lifelong learning (enrichment or professional training) courses for external audiences

Employee/Staff onboarding and training courses

Large-scale training and compliance courses for employees

Large-scale compliance courses for students

While most of these courses are viable candidates for migrating to Canvas, some may explore other options (for a variety of reasons).

A timeline for migrating non-credit courses in the categories previously noted is currently being finalized. Read more about initial plans, next steps and key contacts.

Questions or issues? Get help with Canvas

In addition to the training sessions listed in the “Events” section, there are numerous ways to get help and learn more about Canvas including the UW-Madison Canvas Knowledgebase, the Canvas Instructor Guide, and one-on-one consultations with learning technologists from DoIT Academic Technology, and some schools and colleges. All of these resources, and more, can be found on the “Help & Training” page.